Bills
| 3.23.22

Should the VA Reimburse Homeless Shelters for Taking Care of Veterans’ Minor Children? (H.R. 95)

Do you support or oppose this bill?

What is H.R. 95?

(Updated August 8, 2020)

This bill — the Homeless Veteran Families Act — would fund community housing agencies that provide services to homeless veterans and their minority dependents (children). It would allow the Dept. of Veterans Affairs (VA) Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem (GPD) Program to reimburse providers for 50% of the costs of housing minor dependents of homeless veterans while the veterans receive services from the grant recipients.

Argument in favor

Currently, the VA’s inability to reimburse homeless shelters for caring for veterans’ minor children puts veterans with children at a disadvantage when looking for shelter housing. This is unconscionable, and a poor way to repay veterans’ sacrifice for the country.

Argument opposed

The VA, as an agency that’s meant to help veterans, should be using it funds for that purpose and purpose only. While veterans’ children should be eligible for federal government assistance if their parents are experiencing economic hardship, that money shouldn’t come from the VA.

Impact

Homeless shelters; homeless veterans; minor children of veterans; VA reimbursements to homeless shelters that house veterans and their minor children; and Dept. of Veterans Affairs (VA) Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem (GPD) Program.

Cost of H.R. 95

The CBO estimates that this bill would cost $14 million over the 2020-2024 period.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Rep. Julia Brownley (D-CA) reintroduced this bill from the 115th Congress to support community agencies that help homeless veterans with children find safe places to live:

“As a nation, we have a sacred responsibility to help those who served in uniform. It is simply unacceptable that veterans with children are living out on the street or in other unsafe locations because the VA can’t reimburse community agencies for housing them. This is an issue that disproportionately impacts women veterans — the fastest-growing veteran population. It is imperative that we fix this issue and keep families together and safe, while providing the stable living situation imperative to setting the conditions for a fresh start.”

Last Congress, the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans’ CEO, Kathryn Monet, expressed her organization’s support for this bill: 

“Veterans who are homeless with their children have access to permanent housing supports through VA, but the affordable housing crisis our country is facing has lengthened the time it takes them to find appropriate housing with that support. They should not have to stay outside or in unsustainable situations during that period if we can offer them short term bridge housing to get themselves and their families off the street quickly. The [Homeless Veteran Families Act] would provide transitional housing programs funding and flexibility from the VA to provide this critical housing resource to homeless veterans and their families.”

This legislation passed the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity by voice vote with the support of 301 bipartisan cosponsors, including 200 Democrats and 101 Republicans. The Comitis Crisis Center has expressed its support for this legislation in the current Congress.

In the 115th Congress, this legislation had 237 bipartisan cosponsors, including 125 Democrats and 112 Republicans, and didn’t receive a committee vote. The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, American Legion, The Wounded Warrior Project, Disabled American Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Got Your 6, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Military Order of the Purple Heart, and American Veterans (AMVETS) expressed their support for this legislation.


Of Note: The VA GPD Program awards grants to community-based agencies that provide transitional housing and supportive services to help homeless veterans achieve residential stability and self-sufficiency. Currently, the VA lacks the statutory authority to provide reimbursements for the costs of services for veterans’ minor dependents. This means that GPD providers need to pay out of pocket for those services. 

Consequently, some homeless shelters give preference to non-veteran homeless families because they get per diems for those minor dependents from the Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS). According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the financial disincentive for shelters to provide housing to veterans and their children leads to limited housing for veterans and their children — a problem that disproportionately affects female veterans.


Media:

Summary by Lorelei Yang

(Photo Credit: iStockphoto.com / LucieHolloway)